Baseball

Baseball Falls at Keene State

KEENE, NH-Host Keene State broke a 5-5 tie with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and held on for an 8-7 victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's baseball team in the first game of a Little East Conference doubleheader at the Owl Sports Complex Friday. The Owls won the nightcap, 12-0 in seven innings, and swept the doubleheader.

Second baseman Keith Patnode broke the tie with a run-scoring double in the last of the seventh. Designated hitter Erik Bergstrom singled home another run, and first baseman Tyler Diprato singled home a third.

The Corsairs scored twice in the eighth on an RBI single by senior center fielder Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS) and a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Zak Talis (Lynnfield, MA/Lynnfield HS), but could come no closer.
Sophomore second baseman Dan Demello (Taunton, MA/Taunton HS) put the Corsairs on top with an RBI double in the top of the second inning. The Owls tied it in the second on an infield grounder by Patnode.

UMD went ahead in the fourth by scoring a run on a wild pitch, and then added three runs in the fifth. Junior designated hitter Matt Ryan (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge HS) doubled home one run, and senior left fielder Tom LaDore (Milford, CT/Foran HS) tripled home two more. KSC got three runs in their half of the fifth on Diprato's RBI double, a run-scoring single by shortstop Jesse Cahill, and Patnode's sacrifice fly. Cahill doubled home the tying run in the sixth for the Owls. Junior shortstop Ryan McDermott (Pembroke, MA/Pembroke HS) had three hits for the Corsairs, while Diprato had three hits for Keene State.

Pat Lavey, the second of three UMass Dartmouth pitchers, took the loss and fell to 3-3. Kyle Davis, the second Owl pitcher, earned the win and improved to 4-2, while Corey Vogt got his fourth save.

Keene State scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the second game open. Catcher Anthony Cipolla, designated hitter Cody Callahan and center fielder Kyle Morrill each drove in two runs for the Owls. Ryan had two hits for the Corsairs. Freshman starter Aaron Brunette (North Andover, MA/North Andover HS) started and took the loss for UMD, while Dan Nelson went the first six innings for KSC and earned the win, improving to 5-0.

"In the first game, we were ahead, 5-1, and we just didn't get the big hits when we needed them," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Bob Curran. "We knew we had to sweep to host, and we didn't play well in the second game. I'm disappointed with the results. We'll have to wait to see who we play in the tournament."

The Corsairs are now 20-17 overall and 7-7 in the Little East Conference, while the Owls are 25-13-1 and 10-4 in LEC play. Both teams will return to action in next week's Little East Conference Tournament.